U.S. soldiers begin their journey home from Iraq at the al-Asad Air Base, west of Baghdad, on November 1. President Barack Obama announced on Oct. 21 that American troops would fully withdraw from Iraq by year-end.

President Barack Obama signs a proclamation to designate Ft. Monroe, in Hampton, Virginia, a National Monument, in the Oval Office, November 1. The President was joined by, from left to right, Mayor Molly Ward, Hampton, VA, Secretary Ken Salazar, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Lacy Ward, Jr. Director, Robert Russa Moton Museum, Farmville, VA

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From 2004 and 2006, posted by American Bridge on YouTube today:

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February 2009: Vice President Joseph Biden shares a moment with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s mother Dorothy Rodham during a ceremonial swearing-in for Sec. Clinton at the State Department

Asked about the death of Hillary Clinton’s mother today, President Obama called her “a strong, determined, gifted person”. “For her to have lived the life that she did and to see her daughter succeed in the pinnacle of public service in this country, I’m sure was deeply satisfying to her.”

President Obama speaks about the passing of Dorothy Rodham, November 1

KGO: Scott Olsen, the 25-year-old Iraq war veteran who was injured by a projectile during Tuesday’s “Occupy Oakland” demonstration, remains in fair condition.

On Saturday, a spokesperson for Highland Hospital said Olsen … had been transferred to another undisclosed hospital.

The spokesperson also said documentary filmmaker Michael Moore tried to visit Olsen on Saturday. The hospital said the family has asked for Olsen’s privacy and asked Moore not to try to visit Olsen and the hospital again.

“We have a very, very polite message to Mr. Moore: Mr. Olsen is not here,” the hospital spokesperson said, “and if you do find out where he is, the Olsen family doesn’t want you to come there either.”

As BWD put it on Twitter, what a “disgusting opportunist” Moore is. What on earth made him think that the Olsen family would want him at Scott’s bedside? Especially after they had asked for privacy? Oh boy, I used to love Michael Moore….

ABC: Continuing his executive actions campaign, President Obama will sign a proclamation this afternoon to designate Fort Monroe a national monument.

“Fort Monroe has played a part in some of the darkest and some of the most heroic moments in American history. But today isn’t just about preserving a national landmark – it’s about helping to create jobs and grow the local economy. Steps like these won’t replace the bold action we need from Congress to get our economy moving and strengthen middle-class families, but they will make a difference,” Obama said in a written statement.

According to the White House, the preservation of Fort Monroe will help create nearly 3,000 jobs in Virginia …. Fort Monroe is integral to the history of slavery, the Civil War, and the U.S. military. It was the place where Dutch traders first brought enslaved Africans in 1619 and during the Civil War the fort became a place for escaped slaves to find refuge. In 1861, the fort was the site of Gen. Benjamin Butler’s “Contraband Decision,” which provided a pathway to freedom for thousands of slaves.

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Think Progress: Mitt Romney, his son Tagg, and Romney’s chief fundraiser, Spencer Zwick, have extensive financial and political ties to three men who allegedly participated in an $8.5 billion Ponzi scheme. A few months after the Ponzi scheme collapsed, a firm financed by Mitt Romney and run by his son and chief fundraiser partnered with the three men and created a new “wealth management business” as a subsidiary.